Zul'jin Guide: Strategy, Abilities, Loot

Zul'jin is the sixth and final boss you will encounter in Zul'Aman and can only be reached after all previous bosses are defeated. This fight has multiple different phases, each phase using many abilities from each of the previous bosses, as well as some unique abilities. Be sure to read up on the mechanics below to properly handle this boss.

It is worth noting here that each phase transition happens every 20% of Zul'jins' health (at 80%, 60%, 40% and 20%). Each time Zul'jin transitions, he resets his threat completely. Players must wait for tanks to reestablish a threat lead before they begin to DPS.

• Grievous Throw — Deals 4,750 Physical damage to a random player. Then places a DoT on them, causing 2,375 Physical damage every 2 seconds until the target is healed to full health.
• Whirlwind — Deals high Physical damage to all nearby enemies for 2 seconds.

• Creeping Paralysis — Puts a debuff on all enemies. After 6 seconds, deals 4,500 Nature damage and stuns targets hit for 4 seconds. Can be dispelled.
• Overpower — Deals high Physical damage to current target with a low cooldown.

• Energy Storm — Debuffs all nearby enemy players. When a debuffed player casts a spell, they will be Zapped by electricity for 1,250 Nature damage.
• Feather Vortex — During this entire phase, 4 tornado-looking vortexes travel slowly around the room toward random players. If these a player comes in contact with any of these vortexes, they are hit for 1,000 Nature damage and knocked back (Cyclone).

• Claw Rage — Targets a random player and stuns them, then assaults them with a series of rapid strikes. Each attack deals 500 Physical damage and applies a debuff increasing Physical damage taken by 150 per stack.
• Lynx Rush — Zul'jin quickly pounces at 9 random targets, causing 2,140 to 2,360 Physical damage and places a bleed damage-over-time debuff on each target hit, dealing 1,500 Physical damage every 2 seconds for a total of 10 seconds.

• Flame Breath — Frequently deals 2,000 Fire damage to enemies in front of him.
• Column of Fire — During this phase, multiple pillars of fire will spawn on a random player, dealing damage to nearby enemies via Burn.
• Flame Whirl — Zul'jin spins around for 2 seconds, dealing 920 Fire damage to all enemies and debuffing them with Flame Whirl, increasing all Fire damage taken by 50% per stack.

The most important thing to remember about this boss is that a threat reset occurs at every 20% health interval (at 80%, 60%, 40% and 20%). Give your tanks a few seconds to reestablish aggro between phase transitions.

Zul'jin will be on the opposite side of the platform that players enter from. He will be surrounded by a few low health minions around his platform. Quickly have your DPS deal with the very low health adds while you allow your tank to run in and grab a threat lead. Depending on the number of Hunters available to you, you may wish to save Misdirection for later phases where threat will be reset.

Ranged players should make sure to not be near the boss to avoid the Whirlwind damage. It is best for all ranged players to stack together to help the healers with any AoE healing spells. Melee DPS will need to be aware of the Whirlwind timings and back away from the boss if they are low health.

Healers need to be quick to top off anyone debuffed with Grievous Throw, as the bleed does not go away until the player is at 100% health. Immunities such as Ice Block and Blessing of Protection can be used to remove the bleed, but have much better uses in later phases and it is recommended to only use them if absolutely needed.

Phase two begins at 80% health. Zul'jin will walk to the center of his platform and transform into a bear avatar. This transition comes with a complete threat wipe.

Wait a few seconds for the tank to establish threat at the start of the phase. The entire raid will walk to stack together behind the boss, including all ranged DPS and healers. Periodically, Zul'jin will cast Creeping Paralysis on the entire raid, which must be removed by spells such as Mass Dispel or Cleanse or the debuffed player will be stunned for 4 seconds after the initial 6 second debuff fades away. If your raid does not have a Priest for Mass Dispel, use any available magic dispels to remove the debuff, prioritizing your tank and healers first.

During this phase, the tank will be getting hit fairly hard, and can receive high burst damage from a combination of Overpower and melee attacks. Make sure to keep the tank topped up at all times and be ready with any available emergency cooldowns.

Phase three begins at 60% health. Zul'jin will walk to the center of his platform and transform into an eagle avatar. This phase has no threat table.

The raid will want to spread around the room to all avoid being hit by the Feather Vortex going around the room. This phase has no threat table so DPS does not need to wait for threat to be reestablished. During this phase, ALL players will be debuffed with Energy Storm, causing them to take moderate damage every time they cast ANY spell. Players must be aware of this at all times and be mindful of their health total when casting spells.

Healers will want to split into different sections of the platform, covering more area and reaching more of the raid at one time. It is very easy to die during this phase, as there are multiple vortexes spinning around the room, as well as the Energy Storm causing constant damage to caster DPS. Be aware of your health total, and if you find yourself low health, wait for a heal before casting your next spell.

Phase four begins at 40% health. Zul'jin will walk to the center of his platform and transform into a lynx avatar. This transition comes with a complete threat wipe.

Wait a few seconds for the tank to establish threat at the start of the phase. The entire raid will want to stack together behind the boss, including all ranged DPS and healers, similar to Phase Two. This is to help the healers keep the entire raid alive as Zul'jin will attack random raid members with Lynx Rush, damaging and bleeding any enemies hit. This also keeps the boss in one place, so melee DPS do not need to chase him down as he moves from player to player.

The main threat from this phase is the Claw Rage, where he will target a random player, stun them, and rapidly hit them with a flurry of attacks. Each attack from Zul'jin puts the Claw Rage debuff on the player, increasing their damage taken by 150 per stack. This quickly adds up and the player will start to be hit for thousands of damage at a time. This is where we recommend using any available immunity spells such as Blessing of Protection or Ice Block to stop this assault. Doing this makes Phase Four much smoother and relieves tons of pressure from your healers.

Phase five begins at 20% health. Zul'jin will walk to the center of his platform and transform into a dragonhawk avatar. This transition comes with a complete threat wipe.

Wait a few seconds for the tank to establish threat at the start of the phase. The raid, including melee players, will want to lightly spread out, avoiding standing on top of other players. Once threat is established, use any remaining DPS cooldowns to quickly burn the boss down, as this final form is a quick DPS race.

Every 12 seconds or so, Zul'jin will cast Flame Whirl, dealing moderate Fire damage to all enemies and debuffing them, increasing their Fire damage taken by 50% per stack. This ability makes Phase Five a DPS race, if the raid takes too long this stack will overwhelm the healers and quickly start killing raid members.

Avoid standing in front of the boss whenever possible, making sure to face him away from the raid at all times, as Zul'jin will constantly cast Flame Breath in front of him. The tank will constantly be taking high burst damage during this phase, as they will be getting hit by this while having stacks of Flame Whirl.

The last thing to worry about during this phase are the multiple Column of Fire that will very frequently spawn during this phase. These pillars of fire spawn on a random player, dealing moderate Fire damage to any enemies touching the pillar through Burn. Make sure to spread out slightly during this phase and pay attention to your character, moving if a fire column spawns on top of you. Other than that, kill the boss quickly before you get overwhelmed.

This can be a long fight, having five phases in total, so Mana conservation might be needed. Be sure to use Super Mana Potions as needed and any personal cooldowns to help out. The most important thing to remember on this fight is that phases two, four, and five all will have a threat drop. Be mindful of this and cancel any big heals that would land directly after this occurs.

In Phase One, prioritize healing the people hit by Grievous Throw, quickly topping them up to 100% to remove this debuff. Remember that melee DPS will most likely also be taking damage from the Whirlwind and will need spot healing from time to time.

Phase Three can be tough to heal if you are in a caster-heavy group with the constant damage from Energy Storm. During this phase, you will want to mostly only use big, slow heals, getting the most value per cast. Only use quick, small heals if someone is on the verge of death, as you will most likely take a similar amount of damage as you just healed someone else for. Be careful using instant cast spells such as Circle of Healing here, as you will rapidly take damage with each cast.

Phase Four is the last challenge healers face here. The raid should be stacked together behind the boss, allowing your AoE healing spells to get full value by hitting as many targets as possible. When Zul'jin uses Claw Rage on a random target, swap all heals to this player and keep them alive, as they will be taking nearly 16,000 damage in 6 seconds.

The most important thing to remember on this fight is that phases two, four and five all will have a threat drop where you will need to wait a few seconds before DPSing. Allow the tank time to reestablish aggro and get the boss into position.

During Phases Two and Four you will want to stack up directly behind the boss to help the healers AoE spells get their full effect. On Phases Three and Five, you will want to spread out, avoiding standing near other players while still staying within range of at least one of your healers.

During Phase 3, be aware of your health total at all times, as Energy Storm will cause you to take 1,350 Nature damage every time you cast a spell. This is particularly dangerous to classes that cast many spells rapidly, such as Shadow Priest or Enhancement Shaman. Limit the number of spells you cast during this phase and be prepared to use any defensive cooldowns available to you.

High threat gear is recommended for this fight, as there are multiple threat drops that occur. Communicate with your raid whenever one is happening soon and remind them to give you a few seconds to reestablish aggro. Right before a phase transition, start to save your resources such as Rage, Mana, and ability cooldowns so you can unload them all as soon as threat is reset, helping you burst ahead on threat. Use any personal cooldowns whenever there is not a Misdirection available on a phase transition.

During Phase Two you may take high burst damage. Be ready with any personal defensive cooldowns. In Phase Three there is no threat table, so make sure to either help with healing or DPSing, or try to kite some of the Feather Vortexes away from other players. Make sure to be near the boss with full resources and cooldowns ready before the transition to Phase Four. In Phase Five you may need to move the boss around frequently to avoid the many spawning Column of Fire; if so, make sure to keep the boss faced away from other raid members to avoid them being hit by the Flame Breath.

Item	Item Type	Slot
Ancient Amani Longbow	Ranged	Bow
Blade of Twisted Visions	Weapon	Main-hand Sword
Chestguard of the Warlord	Plate	Chest
Cleaver of the Unforgiving	Weapon	One-hand Axe
Ancient Aqir Artifact	Accessory	Trinket
Dark Blessing	Weapon	Main-hand Mace
Grimgrin Faceguard	Leather	Head
Berserker's Call	Accessory	Trinket
Jin'rohk, The Great Apocalypse	Weapon	Two-hand Sword
Loop of Cursed Bones	Accessory	Neck
Hauberk of the Empire's Champion	Mail	Chest
Two-toed Sandals	Cloth	Feet
Blood of Zul'jin	Miscellaneous	Quest Item
Formula: Enchant Weapon - Executioner	Formula	Enchanting

If you were looking for a full guide for the Zul'Aman raid, see the links below:

You may also be interested in progressing through the other raids of Tier 6, such as Hyjal Summit and Black Temple. As such, we recommend you check out our guides for those raids as well!